Page 51 of Wolf Alliance

Erik shook his head. “He is wrong. If the wolf was so callous as to mate another lass when he pledged his love to you, he is the one to blame. Is that why you were worried about Beathag?”

“A little.”

“I’ve never shown any interest in her.”

She nodded and changed the subject then. “I had fun today, both at the sparring competition and fishing. We could run as wolves this eve.”

“Aye, we would have double our forces, and Alasdair and his people would love it.”

“What about your sons? I promised them we would all run together the next time.”

“As a family. Aye, we will do so.”

Then she smiled.Good.She didn’t seem too miffed with him for telling the boys that she would stay with him tonight before she’d had a chance to talk to them privately about it. And he noted she didn’t correct him when he called them a family.

“After we return from the run and have our meal, I will speak to the boys alone,” she said.

“Of course. If”—he let out his breath—“if they are unsettled about us staying together tonight, we can hold off.” But it was killing him to suggest it.

She chuckled. “You are stuck with me in your bed tonight. And they would be disappointed if we went back on our word.”

He smiled broadly. “Aye, as you say.” He was sure glad for it.

After the meal, the ladies visited while the men discussed politics and other matters. Not that the women weren’t interested in what the men were discussing, but they wanted to talk about different things for now. The wolfhounds had gone after the boys, and she wondered if they were playing with them.

“So, is Alasdair looking to find a mate for you, Bessetta?” Accalia assumed he would want her married off soon because of her age.

“We’ve been discussing possibilities, but nothing is written in stone,” Bessetta said, “but Isobel has some noteworthy news.”

Accalia glanced at her.

Isobel smiled. “Aye, I’m with child. I thought so a few days ago, but ‘twas your midwife confirmed it after we went fishing.”

“Oh, how wonderful. How many?” Accalia asked, surprised she had practiced fighting when she carried bairns in her belly and glad she hadn’t hurt Isobel during the practice.

“’Tis too early to say, though the midwife believes ‘tis more than one as big as I’m growing so early on. Alasdair was having fits when he tried to help me into the boat and saw my expanding belly.”

The ladies laughed.

“Can you run with us this eve?” Accalia believed so. They often ran as wolves until they were about to deliver. It seemed to make the delivery easier for them.

“Aye, up until the last week or so. It depends on the wolf. Some canna manage, some might move more slowly, but they continue to walk as a wolf until the end. Knowing Alasdair, he will watch me constantly until I have the babies.”

“What about you?” Bessetta asked Accalia. “She’s staying with Erik tonight,” she told Isobel.

“Oooh,” Isobel said, smiling.

“It will no’ be a mating, just a way to see if we are…uhm, compatible.”

Bessetta and Isobel shared smiles. “I dinna believe there is any chance you willna be ‘compatible,’ the way the two of you give off pheromones so hotly when you’re around each other,” Isobel said.

“I worry about the boys and how they feel,” Accalia said.

“Believe me, they will be all for it,” Isobel said. “You have proven to them how much you care about them, and they have shown how they feel about you. I was afraid when I knocked you down with my shield—which I hadna planned—they would have all three taken me to task.”

The ladies laughed.

“Thorfinn first,” Bessetta said. “He is the alpha of the brothers. The others waited until he went to Accalia’s aid first.”

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